This invention relates generally to the mounting of radio antennas on vehicles, and to the provision of convenient and effective electrical connections for operating such antennas.
The invention is especially, although not exclusively, useful in connection with antennas designed for two-way voice communication at radio frequencies in the so-called Citizen's Band.
Satisfactory installation of CB equipment must meet rather specialized requirements. On the one hand, careful attention to technical details is needed in mounting and connecting the antenna in order to derive maximum benefit from the relatively low value of four watts to which the transmitter output power is limited. On the other hand, due to the rapidly expanding popularity of CB radios among the general public, many sets are bought and installed by amateurs having little facility with tools and only limited understanding of electricity. Accordingly, even a small improvement in the available equipment may prove highly beneficial if it helps an inexperienced purchaser to install his CB antenna in a manner to insure good performance.
The present invention provides improved means for installing and electrically connecting the relatively long coaxial cable that is usually needed to reach from the selected antenna position to the transceiver. That improved coupling mechanism simplifies the installation procedure by eliminating any need for cutting and trimming the cable end, or for soldering the cable conductor and braided shield to respective terminals of the antenna mounting bracket, as is necessary in many previous designs.
Those advantages are obtained without significantly complicating the often difficult task of fishing the coaxial cable through small apertures in the vehicle body, or through the final mounting hole in a body panel at which the antenna bracket is sometimes secured.